


Like a Moth to a Flame

by Colonel_Edd



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Parenting, But He makes Up For It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jack being an arse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-07 17:33:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19089802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colonel_Edd/pseuds/Colonel_Edd
Summary: This is what happens when Ianto tries to comfort an extremely grumpy Captain Jack Harkness on one of his bad days. Will he succeed in cheering Jack up or will everything go off the rails? Remember this is Torchwood after all, so is that even a question?





	Like a Moth to a Flame

When Ianto and Jack fought, it was always over something big. They weren’t the kind of, dare he use the word, _couple_ to argue over little things like who left the toilet seat up or used the last of the milk because at the end of the day what was done was done and they had better ways of spending their time together than arguing over the past.

That being said when they did fight, they fought explosively.

Ianto never yelled and that was something Jack respected about the man, he was always able to get his point across without screaming or throwing things. Sure, he raised his voice, but he would never cause a scene which suited Jack just fine. They might not say it but they both knew what they had was special, important, and while it may not always be easy it was well worth it. Every time Jack resurrected in Ianto’s arms he counted his lucky stars because coming back had never been so easy before. 

That didn’t make the fighting any easier though. Jack rarely got to see Ianto express his emotions without second guessing himself so it was always particularly painful for him to watch the other man show his anger and disappointment so clearly and without hesitation. Sometimes he wished Ianto could be as open with his positive emotions as he was with the negative ones. Baby steps.

Ianto made him so frustrated at times but what’s worst was the Welshman scared him. Jack knew himself well, he knew his limits and he knew when to remove himself from a situation to minimise the heartbreak on his end. It was cold but necessary considering his situation, he could never grow old with the person he loved so breaking things off cleanly had become something he was rather good at over the years. But Ianto made him not want to break away, Ianto made him want to stay and that petrified him.

Today, Jack was simply in a horrid mood. It wasn’t Ianto’s fault, far from it, he hadn’t even seen the other man since the night before as he had this Saturday off from rift duty. Jack however was still responsible for whatever the rift decided to spit out. Today that had been three broken musical instruments scattered all across the city, five weevils looking for a snack and to top it all off it was the anniversary of the day he stranded himself on Earth over a hundred years ago. To put it simply, he was not having a good day, he was on his third scotch and for once it wasn’t improved by Ianto coming to see him, unannounced, to try cheer him up. The last thing he wanted right then, was company.

“Hey,” Ianto said softly, leaning against his office door with a shy smile that would usually have Jack grinning back and yet today he just wanted to push the other man through the door and slam it closed behind him, “Is something the matter, did something happen?” He asked, his smile slipping to be replaced with a frown as he stepped into the office. 

It had been about three months since he’d come back from his trip with The Doctor and subsequently had to deal with John Hart of all people, even less so since he took Ianto out on their first date. He knew that Ianto wasn’t doing so well emotionally, not that he’d ever admit it, and that they were still on slightly rocky ground but that was hardly his fault, he had been making an effort after all.

“No, everything’s fine” Jack resisted the urge to sigh as Ianto sat on his usual spot of the desk that Jack had even gone as far to dub ‘Ianto’s perch’ in his head, “It’s just been a busy day is all.”

“Really?” Ianto cocked his head to one side as Jack put a hand on his knee, “You could have called me in, I wouldn’t have minded. Do…” he trailed off, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jack grit his teeth and pulled his hand back, Ianto knew how much mumbling grated on his nerves, “You know what? I really don’t Ianto, in fact I’d rather be left alone” he huffed, getting up from his desk to stand sullenly by the drinks cart with his scotch, “Is it too much to ask for some privacy? I do live here y’know”

Ianto’s face fell and he quickly got up as well, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “Right, sorry.” He cleared his throat and tried for a smile, “Should have really called first”

Knowing he was being harsh and yet not finding it in himself to care, Jack just agreed, “Yeah” He hated feeling like this, angry and frustrated with a pinch of guilt for making Ianto’s smile disappear which only multiplied when he saw the hurt he tried to hide behind his eyes. Then the guilt just made him even more angry and frustrated, it was an endless loop and Jack hated it.

Clearing his throat again, Ianto nodded to himself and clasped his hands behind his back, “I guess I’ll see you Monday, barring any Rift related catastrophes”

“Right.” Jack nodded, the guilt stewing in his stomach not enough to make him apologise yet. He’d probably call Ianto later and make things right but for now he was focused on feeling sorry for himself and angry at the world.

Turning to walk out of the office, Ianto paused by the door once more and turned to ask one last time, “Are you positive you’re okay?”

Jack didn’t know what made him do it, but he snapped, “Ianto!” and slammed his drink down on the cart. He wasn’t expecting Ianto to flinch back violently, eyes wide as his back slammed into the doorframe hard enough to rattle the glass in the adjoining window.

“Shit sorry,” Ianto gulped, staring at Jack as if he were a Weevil ready to pounce, “I’ll just, I’ll go”

Spinning on his heel, Ianto fled from the office, not quite running but definitely much faster than usual. Jack just stood there like an idiot for a few seconds before his brain rebooted and told him to hurry the fuck up and stop Ianto from leaving, “Ianto!” He called almost desperately as he chased after him, something was wrong here, Ianto never ran away from him, not even when he probably should so that he had done now was a problem. Yes, Jack had been acting like a prick, but it wasn’t enough to warrant a reaction like that.

Ianto stopped just at the cog door, back still turned as he spoke, “I should go” he told him, “You were right I should have called first and not just assumed”

Horrid mood replaced with concern, Jack wasn’t sure what to do with the emotional rollercoaster he was currently experiencing, “Perhaps but that’s not the problem here,” Jack let his eyes roll down Ianto’s body, looking closer for a reaction no matter how minute, “I was being a prick, I’m sorry, you were only trying to look after me”

Ianto’s breathing hitched as he shook his head jaggedly, “S’my fault for pushing” Jack felt his chest tighten when he took a small step forward and picked up on the subtle shaking of Ianto’s shoulders, “I should just go” he repeated himself but that’s not what Jack wanted.

“I would prefer it if you stayed,” Jack reached out and gently ran his hand down Ianto’s arm, circling his fingers around his wrist so he could pull him back towards the battered sofa pushed back against the wall by Owen’s medbay. He counted his lucky stars when Ianto didn’t flinch away from him again but he knew he still had some work to do when he felt the tremors still running down his arm, “I shouldn’t have yelled at you, for that I am sorry” he didn’t deserve it

“It’s fine” Ianto tried to insist as he sat a good few inches away from Jack, his leg bouncing nervously, “I’m fine”

“You don’t deserve to have me take my bad mood out on you” Jack insisted just as hard as a horrible thought wiggled its way past his defences, “You know I would never hurt you, right?”

If he wasn’t watching as closely as he was, Jack would have missed the tiny flicker of something behind Ianto’s perfectly constructed mask, “I know,” he nodded with a smile Jack almost bought, “And I you”

Jack knew they had to discuss this but he knew just as well that Ianto would rather claw his own eyes out than do just that so he had to be careful, “Good,” he hesitated before reaching out to wrap his arm around Ianto’s shoulders, breathing a sigh of relief when he wasn’t shrugged off and was able to pull the other man closer, “I was in a bad mood because of the rift, not because of you”

“I see” Ianto said, nervously shifting a bit to get more comfortable. He ended up resting his head against Jack’s shoulder and he didn’t seem to mind. 

Jack waited patiently for Ianto, listening to his breathing as it slowly returned to a normal rate. They both knew they had to have a discussion about what happened, it was brushing things under the rug that had made things worse between them before but for now, Jack let himself enjoy the feeling of Ianto in his arms. That was something he would never grow tired of, he didn’t know how the Welshman did it but he drew Jack in like a moth to a flame and made the inevitable burning feel unimportant. 

“Both my parents are dead” Ianto told him suddenly

Jack knew that already, it said so in his file, “I know”

“Right of course, my file” Ianto said as if reading his mind, “I loved them, I really did. Even when they made it a hard thing to do”

Of course he did, Ianto was selfless and had one of the biggest hearts Jack had ever had the privilege of knowing. He was the kind of man who put everybody else’s needs above his own to the point of being miserable himself, “A hard thing to do?” Jack prompted, he didn’t like the sound of that at all. Surely it would have been mentioned in his T1 file if there was any serious issues at home? Yvonne had been verging on scary concerning the information she managed to gather about her employees.

“It was only a handful of times,” Ianto finally whispered, as if saying it any quieter would make it easier to hear. When Jack looked at him he saw both embarrassment and vulnerability, he’s have to do something about that, “As a kid and it was never excessive”

“Ianto-”

“My father was drunk a lot, never when Rhia was around though. I think that’s why she never believed me when I told her, she was never there y’see” Ianto was looking anywhere but at Jack, “I put it behind me a long time ago, must have been the sound that brought it all back” he explained, “The glass on the drinks cart, we had one just like it at home. It just reminded me and… I guess I panicked”

Jack was a master of torture, he had perfected the art form during his time at the agency and he knew if Ianto’s father was still alive he would make him wish he wasn’t. He would make it slow and painful for what he had done. No amount of drawn out agony was going to change the past though.

Jack grabbed Ianto chin lightly and turned his head so they were looking at one another, “That’s not an excuse, you deserved better” he knew how much it took for Ianto to open up like that, he would bet his vortex manipulator that Ianto could count on one hand the amount of people he had told, “Thank you for being honest”

Ianto rolled his eyes but the colour on his cheeks gave away how he really felt, “Yeah well I didn’t want you thinking I was scared of _you_ of all things” he shrugged when Jack kept looking at him like he was a puzzle, “It really was just the sound”

Seemingly satisfied, Jack nodded and pressed a quick kiss to Ianto’s cheek, “Sorry I took my bad mood out on you, we could have been doing so many better things with our time”

Ianto laughed and Jack couldn’t help but smile along with him, “You were having a shit day, I’m just glad you’re alright”

Standing up, Jack pulled Ianto back towards his office to further make up for his blunder. Nothing said I’m sorry like an apology blowjob after all. Though it had been a horrid day and an even more horrid night, Jack felt as though they had time to turn it around. Ianto had the power to make even the most bleak of situations look hopeful and Jack loved him for it. 

Hopefully, one day he could tell him so.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, feel free to let me know in the comments what you think :) I know this one’s a little different than my other works


End file.
